Organization and Chapter History

Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C., January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students -- Honorable A. Langston Taylor, Honorable Leonard F. Morse, and Honorable Charles I. Brown. The founders deeply wished to create an organization that viewed itself as “a part of” the general community rather than “apart from” the general community. They believed that each potential member should be judged by his own merits rather than his family background or affluence . . . without regard of race, nationality, skin tone, or texture of hair. They wanted their fraternity to exist as part of even a greater brotherhood.

From its inception, the founders also conceived Phi Beta Sigma as a mechanism to deliver services to the general community. Rather than gaining skills to be utilized exclusively for themselves and their immediate families, the founders of Phi Beta Sigma held a deep conviction that they should return their newly acquired skills to the communities from which they had come – this is reflected in the fraternity’s motto, “Culture for Service and Service for Humanity.”

Today, ninety-eight years later, Phi Beta Sigma has blossomed into an international organization of leaders. With the force, vigor, power and energy of its more than 170,000 dedicated men united in more than 750 chapters across the United States, Africa, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean, Phi Beta Sigma continues to faithfully perpetuate composite growth and progress as the "people's fraternity" dedicated to providing services to all humanity.

Locally, the brothers of the Iota Lambda Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma, chartered March 20th, 1978, are involved in a great many endeavors geared toward the betterment of our local community. The Iota Lambda chapter has received numerous accolades for our achievements on the campus of UNO and within Phi Beta Sigma, including the 2004 UNO Organization of the Year and 2007 UNO Greek Scholar of the Year. The chapters’ locally participates in: Project S.T.I.C.K. (Sigma Taking Initiative to Care for Kids) and Sigma H.O.S.T.S. (Helping One Student To Succeed).